title: Skin cancers and other cutaneous diseases in renal transplant recipients: a single Italian center observational study.
abstract: Kidney transplant recipients frequently suffer from skin infections and malignancies, due to the effects of long-term immunosuppressive therapy. Herein, a dermatological screening was performed to evaluate the relationship between risk factors, cutaneous tumours and other skin diseases in a group of 282 kidney transplant patients. Infectious diseases (16.7%) were the most frequent dermatological disorders, whereas cutaneous inflammatory and autoimmune diseases were relatively rare, probably due to an indirect therapeutic role of immunosuppressive regimens. Thirty patients experienced cutaneous side effects from immunosuppressants, mainly when receiving corticosteroids (p = 0.0372). We identified 99 patients (35.1%) who developed cutaneous tumours after transplantation. Cumulative tumour incidence was observed during long-term immunosuppressive therapy; no relationships were identified between skin cancer risk and single class of drug or combination regimens. When we evaluated the eventual relevance of other risk factors for skin cancers, we demonstrated a statistical significance in univariate analysis for male gender, more advanced age at transplantation, long duration of immunosuppressive regimens, no sunscreen usage, outdoor job, absence of cherry angiomas and presence of actinic keratoses (AKs). Age at transplantation (p = 0.0174), presence of AKs (p = 0.0005) and duration of immunosuppression (p = 0.0011) also confirmed their significance in multivariate analysis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinics and Oncological Dermatology, University of Turin, via Cherasco 23, Turin, Italy. paola.savoia@unito.it
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Savoia
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stroppiana
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cavaliere
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Osella-Abate
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mezza
authors.forename: Giuseppe Paolo
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Segoloni
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Bernengo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D055623:Keratosis, Actinic / Q000453:epidemiology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents